One essential for golf (and life)

Friday

Oct 19, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 19, 2012 at 3:30 PM

When I was young, I thought golf was a dumb sport for old men. I was into basketball, tennis and volleyball. Basketball was my favorite, and I often played several times a week until I was in my mid 40s and my knees decided they did not like me anymore. When my doctor told me I had to stop the jumping, pounding and twisting motions of basketball, I got a little depressed. My mind said I could still play, but my body said it was time to take up something else. Several friends invited me to take up golf. I agreed, and asked myself how hard could it be? The ball is just sitting there, not moving at all, and I was used to trying to run and hit a spinning ball in tennis. As you probably figured out, I was in for a rude awakening. Golf turned out to be a lot harder and more complex than I imagined. I discovered that golf was not just a dumb old sport — it was immensely challenging. While golf was a totally different sport, I found there was one key concept that was essential to do well in all the sports.

What is interesting is that in the spiritual realm, Jesus said this concept was also critical to being a real Christian or doing well spiritually. It is a concept that, unfortunately, many in golf and life try and ignore. After Jesus preached the longest and best-known message of his ministry, the Sermon on the Mount, he concluded by saying that many there would miss the importance of the message because they did not grasp this one concept — the idea of follow through.

To make his point, Jesus tells this short little story, or parable. “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24-29). Many people listening to Jesus thought they were good with God because they had been to church and heard Jesus preach. But Jesus shocked them by saying that just listening to sermons was useless, just like building a house on sand, unless there is follow through.

Surveys by pollster George Barna and others have shown that far too many who call themselves Christians do not live different lives from the rest of society. But many of these folks love going to church services and Bible studies. I know folks who have gone to services at their church Sunday morning and evening, and Wednesday nights, for years, yet are as self-centered and quarrelsome as they ever were. Others neglect their spouse or family to go to more Bible studies. Jesus said it’s time to put what he says into practice. Without follow through, all the sermons and Bible studies become meaningless. Unfortunately, we often don’t find out until a storm hits our life and our house falls apart.

Carefully listening to practical sermons and studying the Bible is important, but follow through is often the missing ingredient. Think about an area of your life that needs changing and focus on the follow through of biblical truth. Follow through will change your golf swing, and your life.

Bob Felts is lead pastor at Brookwood Church. He can be reached at bobfelts@brookwoodchurch.com

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